El Greco's dramatic and expressionistic style was met with
puzzlement by his contemporaries but found appreciation in the 20th
century. El Greco is regarded as a precursor of both Expressionism and
Cubism, while his personality and works were a source of inspiration for
poets and writers such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Nikos Kazantzakis. El
Greco has been characterized by modern scholars as an artist so
individual that he belongs to no conventional school. He is best known
for tortuously elongated figures and often fantastic or phantasmagorical
pigmentation, marrying Byzantine traditions with those of Western
painting.
Early years and family
Born in 1541 in either the village of Fodele or Candia (the Venetian
name of Chandax, present day Heraklion) in Crete, El Greco was descended
from a prosperous urban family, which had probably been driven out of
Chania to Candia after an uprising against the Venetians between 1526
and 1528. El Greco's father, Georgios Theotokopoulos (d. 1556), was a
merchant and tax collector. Nothing is known about his mother or his
first wife, a Greek woman. El Greco's older brother, Manoussos
Theotokopoulos (1531 - December 13, 1604), was a wealthy merchant and
spent the last years of his life (1603-1604) in El Greco's Toledo home.
El Greco received his initial training as an icon painter of the
Cretan school, the leading centre of post-Byzantine art. In addition to
painting, he probably studied the classics of ancient Greece, and
perhaps the Latin classics also; he left a "working library" of 130
books at his death, including the Bible in Greek and an annotated
Vasari. Candia was a center for artistic activity where Eastern and
Western cultures co-existed harmoniously, where around two hundred
painters were active during the 16th century, and had organized a
painters' guild, based on the Italian model. In 1563, at the age of
twenty-two, El Greco was described in a document as a "master" ("maestro
Domenigo"), meaning he was already a master of the guild and presumably
operating his own workshop. Three years later, in June 1566, as a
witness to a contract, he signed his name as Master Menegos
Theotokopoulos, painter.
Most scholars believe that the Theotocopoulos "family was almost
certainly Greek Orthodox", although some Catholic sources still claim
him from birth. Like many Orthodox emigrants to Europe, he apparently
transferred to Catholicism after his arrival, and certainly practiced as
a Catholic in Spain, where he described himself as a "devout Catholic"
in his will. The extensive archival research conducted since the early
1960s by scholars, such as Nikolaos Panayotakis, Pandelis Prevelakis and
Maria Constantoudaki, indicates strongly that El Greco's family and
ancestors were Greek Orthodox. One of his uncles was an Orthodox priest,
and his name is not mentioned in the Catholic archival baptismal
records on Crete. Prevelakis goes even further, expressing his doubt
that El Greco was ever a practicing Roman Catholic.
Italy
Christ Healing the Blind 1570s
Crete having been a possession of the Republic of Venice since 1211,
it was natural for the young El Greco to pursue his career in Venice.
Though the exact year is not clear, most scholars agree that El Greco
went to Venice around 1567. Knowledge of El Greco's years in Italy is
limited. He lived in Venice until 1570 and, according to a letter
written by his much older friend, the greatest miniaturist of the age,
the Croatian Giulio Clovio, was a "disciple" of Titian, who was by then
in his eighties but still vigorous. This may mean he worked in Titian's
large studio, or not. Clovio characterized El Greco as "a rare talent in
painting".
In 1570 El Greco moved to Rome, where he executed a series of works
strongly marked by his Venetian apprenticeship. It is unknown how long
he remained in Rome, though he may have returned to Venice (c.
1575-1576) before he left for Spain. In Rome, on the recommendation of
Giulio Clovio, El Greco was received as a guest at the Palazzo Farnese,
which Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had made a centre of the artistic and
intellectual life of the city. There he came into contact with the
intellectual elite of the city, including the Roman scholar Fulvio
Orsini, whose collection would later include seven paintings by the
artist (View of Mt. Sinai and a portrait of Clovio are among them).
Unlike other Cretan artists who had moved to Venice, El Greco
substantially altered his style and sought to distinguish himself by
inventing new and unusual interpretations of traditional religious
subject matter. His works painted in Italy were influenced by the
Venetian Renaissance style of the period, with agile, elongated figures
reminiscent of Tintoretto and a chromatic framework that connects him to
Titian. The Venetian painters also taught him to organize his
multi-figured compositions in landscapes vibrant with atmospheric light.
Clovio reports visiting El Greco on a summer's day while the artist was
still in Rome. El Greco was sitting in a darkened room, because he
found the darkness more conducive to thought than the light of the day,
which disturbed his "inner light". As a result of his stay in Rome, his
works were enriched with elements such as violent perspective vanishing
points or strange attitudes struck by the figures with their repeated
twisting and turning and tempestuous gestures; all elements of
Mannerism.
By the time El Greco arrived in Rome, Michelangelo and Raphael were
dead, but their example continued to be paramount and left little room
for different approaches. Although the artistic heritage of these great
masters was overwhelming for young painters, El Greco was determined to
make his own mark in Rome defending his personal artistic views, ideas
and style. He singled out Correggio and Parmigianino for particular
praise, but he did not hesitate to dismiss Michelangelo's Last Judgment
in the Sistine Chapel; he extended an offer to Pope Pius V to paint over
the whole work in accord with the new and stricter Catholic thinking.
When he was later asked what he thought about Michelangelo, El Greco
replied that "he was a good man, but he did not know how to paint". And
thus we are confronted by a paradox: El Greco is said to have reacted
most strongly or even condemned Michelangelo, but he had found it
impossible to withstand his influence. Michelangelo's influence can be
seen in later El Greco works such as the Allegory of the Holy League. By
painting portraits of Michelangelo, Titian, Clovio and, presumably,
Raphael in one of his works (The Purification of the Temple), El Greco
not only expressed his gratitude but advanced the claim to rival these
masters. As his own commentaries indicate, El Greco viewed Titian,
Michelangelo and Raphael as models to emulate. In his 17th century
Chronicles, Giulio Mancini included El Greco among the painters who had
initiated, in various ways, a re-evaluation of Michelangelo's teachings.
Because of his unconventional artistic beliefs (such as his dismissal
of Michelangelo's technique) and personality, El Greco soon acquired
enemies in Rome. Architect and writer Pirro Ligorio called him a
"foolish foreigner", and newly discovered archival material reveals a
skirmish with Farnese, who obliged the young artist to leave his palace.
On July 6, 1572, El Greco officially complained about this event. A few
months later, on September 18, 1572, El Greco paid his dues to the
Guild of Saint Luke in Rome as a miniature painter. At the end of that
year, El Greco opened his own workshop and hired as assistants the
painters Lattanzio Bonastri de Lucignano and Francisco Preboste.
Spain
Immigration to Toledo
In 1577, El Greco emigrated first to Madrid, then to Toledo, where he
produced his mature works. At the time, Toledo was the religious
capital of Spain and a populous city with "an illustrious past, a
prosperous present and an uncertain future". In Rome, El Greco had
earned the respect of some intellectuals, but was also facing the
hostility of certain art critics. During the 1570s the huge
monastery-palace of El Escorial was still under construction and Philip
II of Spain was experiencing difficulties in finding good artists for
the many large paintings required to decorate it. Titian was dead, and
Tintoretto, Veronese and Anthonis Mor all refused to come to Spain.
Philip had had to rely on the lesser talent of Juan Fernandes de
Navarrete, whose gravedad y decoro ("seriousness and decorum") the king
approved. However, he had just died in 1579; the moment should have been
ideal for El Greco. Through Clovio and Orsini, El Greco met Benito
Arias Montano, a Spanish humanist and agent of Philip; Pedro Chacon, a
clergyman; and Luis de Castilla, son of Diego de Castilla, the dean of
the Cathedral of Toledo. El Greco's friendship with Castilla would
secure his first large commissions in Toledo. He arrived in Toledo by
July 1577, and signed contracts for a group of paintings that was to
adorn the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo and for the
renowned El Espolio. By September 1579 he had completed nine paintings
for Santo Domingo, including The Trinity and The Assumption of the
Virgin. These works would establish the painter's reputation in Toledo.
El Greco did not plan to settle permanently in Toledo, since his
final aim was to win the favor of Philip and make his mark in his court.
Indeed, he did manage to secure two important commissions from the
monarch: Allegory of the Holy League and Martyrdom of St. Maurice.
However, the king did not like these works and placed the St Maurice
altarpiece in the chapter-house rather than the intended chapel. He gave
no further commissions to El Greco. The exact reasons for the king's
dissatisfaction remain unclear. Some scholars have suggested that Philip
did not like the inclusion of living persons in a religious scene; some
others that El Greco's works violated a basic rule of the
Counter-Reformation, namely that in the image the content was paramount
rather than the style. Philip took a close interest in his artistic
commissions, and had very decided tastes; a long sought-after sculpted
Crucifixion by Benvenuto Cellini also failed to please when it arrived,
and was likewise exiled to a less prominent place. Philip's next
experiment, with Federigo Zuccaro was even less successful. In any case,
Philip's dissatisfaction ended any hopes of royal patronage El Greco
may have had.
Mature works and later years
Immigration to Toledo
Lacking the favor of the king, El Greco was obliged to remain in
Toledo, where he had been received in 1577 as a great painter. According
to Hortensio Felix Paravicino, a 17th-century Spanish preacher and
poet, "Crete gave him life and the painter's craft, Toledo a better
homeland, where through Death he began to achieve eternal life." In
1585, he appears to have hired an assistant, Italian painter Francisco
Preboste, and to have established a workshop capable of producing altar
frames and statues as well as paintings. On March 12, 1586 he obtained
the commission for The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, now his best-known
work. The decade 1597 to 1607 was a period of intense activity for El
Greco. During these years he received several major commissions, and his
workshop created pictorial and sculptural ensembles for a variety of
religious institutions. Among his major commissions of this period were
three altars for the Chapel of San Jose in Toledo (1597-1599); three
paintings (1596-1600) for the Colegio de Dona Maria de Aragon, an
Augustinian monastery in Madrid, and the high altar, four lateral
altars, and the painting St. Ildefonso for the Capilla Mayor of the
Hospital de la Caridad (Hospital of Charity) at Illescas (1603-1605).
The minutes of the commission of The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception
(1607-1613), which were composed by the personnel of the municipality,
describe El Greco as "one of the greatest men in both this kingdom and
outside it".
Between 1607 and 1608 El Greco was involved in a protracted legal
dispute with the authorities of the Hospital of Charity at Illescas
concerning payment for his work, which included painting, sculpture and
architecture. This and other legal disputes contributed to the
economic difficulties he experienced towards the end of his life. In
1608, he received his last major commission: for the Hospital of Saint
John the Baptist in Toledo.
El Greco made Toledo his home. Surviving contracts mention him as the
tenant from 1585 onwards of a complex consisting of three apartments
and twenty-four rooms which belonged to the Marquis de Villena. It was
in these apartments, which also served as his workshop, that he passed
the rest of his life, painting and studying. He lived in considerable
style, sometimes employing musicians to play whilst he dined. It is not
confirmed whether he lived with his Spanish female companion, Jeronima
de Las Cuevas, whom he probably never married. She was the mother of his
only son, Jorge Manuel, born in 1578, who also became a painter,
assisted his father, and continued to repeat his compositions for many
years after he inherited the studio. In 1604, Jorge Manuel and Alfonsa
de los Morales gave birth to El Greco's grandson, Gabriel, who was
baptized by Gregorio Angulo, governor of Toledo and a personal friend of
the artist.
During the course of the execution of a commission for the Hospital
Tavera, El Greco fell seriously ill, and a month later, on April 7,
1614, he died. A few days earlier, on March 31, he had directed that his
son should have the power to make his will. Two Greeks, friends of the
painter, witnessed this last will and testament (El Greco never lost
touch with his Greek origins). He was buried in the Church of Santo
Domingo el Antigua. (From Wikipedia)
Source http://www.el-greco-foundation.org/